Image Processing Software Gives Vintners Map to Fine Wine
By: John Snyder

Vineyards in Napa Valley are producing better wine and refining their growth and harvesting processes with the help of image processing software. Paul Skinner of Terra Spase, located in Napa, California, is using the software to analyze airborne remote sensing data and soil samples to help vintners improve irrigation and nutrition management, make crop adjustments, and monitor disease and pest populations. At harvest time, the imagery enables vintners to plan harvesting strategies for reaping fruit at a similar and proper level of maturity. The result? Better wine!
    "We tried everything when we were looking for a software solution. What we really like about ENVI is that it is a complete package," Skinner says of the image processing package Terra Spase is using. "It also has a good interface, handles our archived data, and is competitively priced."
    Using ENVI 3.0 (the Environment for Visualizing Images), the image processing package developed by Boulder, Colorado-based Research Systems, Terra Spase analyzes four-band data (in the blue, green, red and infrared spectrums, collected from 15,000 feet, with two-meter resolution*) gathered during the growing period and near harvest-time. The pre-harvest data is processed to evaluate the canopy density of each part of a vineyard and is represented in a blue-green-red-yellow scheme. Areas of the vineyard that appear blue have a weak canopy or none at all. Sections that are represented in yellow have a very dense or vigorous canopy. Experienced vintners know that grapes, which are very sensitive to their environment, are influenced by sunlight levels. By using image processing technology to process and visualize the data, they can determine where the canopy is too thin or too thick and grapes are being under or overexposed to the sun. Vintners also can see where they may need to alter irrigation levels, modify fertilizer applications, or prune vines to optimize their production and quality. Vintners using this precision-farming technique also may be able to detect anomalies in the canopy caused by crop-threatening insect infestations, for example spider mites and leaf hoppers, or the presence of a spreading fungal disease, such as Botrytis.
    "The vineyard owners that use the imagery we produce are able to see so much more than they used to," says Skinner, founder of Terra Spase. "People are very excited about its possibilities." Skinner's experience with vineyards includes many years of traditional analysis methods, including personally visiting vineyards to assess their growing potential first hand. In concert with soil sample analyses, for characteristics such as pH, nutrient content and texture, Skinner's use of image processing software creates a unique opportunity for his clients to learn more about their vineyard, and optimize their crop production and quality.
    Terra Spase wanted an automatic system to access data files archived from past remote sensing flights. They needed their solution quickly and couldn't afford the time and money it would take to create this batch process. As a solution, they decided to use Research Systems' Professional Services Group (PSG), a team of application development engineers who specialize in software development.
    "The professional services group was exceptionally responsive, even though we aren't a Fortune 500 company," Skinner says. "They quickly turned around the project at a very reasonable cost."
    Terra Spase's requirements were determined with the help of PSG development engineers. According to Burr Toohey, director of services at Research Systems, "We created a custom application to read in hundreds of data files and process them automatically." The PSG-developed batch routine process includes NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and isodata classification as .tiff output. "The resulting isodata classification images allow Terra Spase to isolate individual vineyards for study," Toohey says.
    "My initial expectations were exceeded," Skinner adds. "Our custom-built application included a graphical user interface that makes it simple to modify color tables, define thresholds and other isodata parameters."

Commercial Success
With the help of image processing software and some custom application development work, Terra Spase has been able to improve its services and expand its business. In turn, by combining its depth of experience with new remote sensing technology and precision farming methods, Terra Spase is enabling some Napa Valley vintners to farm their land more efficiently, increase profits, head off disease, and deliver a better product to the wine-drinking public.

About the author:
Jon Snyder is a Boulder, Colorado, freelance writer who specializes in remote sensing technologies. *Terra Spase uses airborne remote sensing data gathered by Positive Systems, Inc., of Whitefish, Montana.

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